Monday Afternoon News, August 4

Red Cross Offers Aid To Fire Victims

LEMARS, -–American Red Cross workers are comforting two people following a fire in LeMars overnight. Based on their needs, the Red Cross provides food, clothing, shelter and other emergency items. Red Cross case workers may work with the family in the coming days to determine if there are other ways the Red Cross may be of assistance. Meanwhile, the American Red Cross recommends that households develop a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year with everyone who lives in the home. People should know two ways to escape from every room and designate a safe place to meet outside the home in case of a fire. Other safety steps include: Follow the escape plan in case of fire. Get out, stay out, and call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number. Install smoke alarms on every level of the house and inside bedrooms. Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year. Test each alarm monthly by pushing the test button.Download the Red Cross First Aid App to get access to life-saving information on what to do for common, everyday first aid emergencies including burns. The app is available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play for Android.

People can visit www.redcross.org for more steps they can take to lessen the chance of a fire in their home. The Red Cross depends on the generosity of the American people to fulfill our mission. Those who would like to help people affected by disasters like tornadoes, floods and home fires can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting www.redcross.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to, and help people recover from disasters big and small.

Secondary Roads Department To Close Two Roads For Culvert Repairs

(Le Mars) -- 240th Street between county road K-49 to Marble Avenue is scheduled to be closed for the next two weeks, beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, August 5th. The Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department says the road closure is so crews can replace a bridge with a culvert pipe. The Secondary Roads Department has also announced they will close Bluebird Avenue from 180th Street to 170th Street in order to replace a bridge with a box culvert. Bluebird Avenue will also be closed for about two weeks, beginning tomorrow.

Study Calls For Updated Maintenance On Tunnels To State Capitol Building

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A 2008 study calls for improvements to tunnels connecting the state Capitol to nearby buildings and notes potential hazards from compressed steam that travels near areas with pedestrian access. Newly released records show some have called for closing the tunnels to pedestrians but they remain open. The independent study by architectural firm Shive-Hattery warned about "many conditions that threaten public safety" in the more than 4,500 feet of tunnels. It outlined several fixes. About $1 million in improvements to the tunnels have been made since the study was released. State officials requested more money in 2013 for additional improvements, but the Legislature did not approve it. Tim Ryburn, administrator of the Capitol complex's maintenance, says the delay in improvements hasn't jeopardized public safety. ---

Northwestern College Earns Fundraising Honor

ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Northwestern College is among the recipients of a 2014 Educational Fundraising Award, an honor given to superior fundraising programs at educational institutions around the country by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Northwestern is one of four private liberal arts institutions with endowments under $100 million recognized for overall improvement. The award is based on three years of fundraising data provided through the Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey, conducted annually by the Council for Aid to Education. This year 1,010 higher education institutions participated in the VSE survey; just 79 won an award for either overall fundraising performance or improvement.

The Educational Fundraising Awards evaluate institutions against their peers based on increases in total support; breadth and growth of program areas; growth in the number of donors; percentage and contributions of alumni donors; and impact of the 12 largest gifts on total support.

University Of Iowa Drops To 2nd Place For Top Party Schools

(Iowa City) -- The University of Iowa has slipped from first in the nation to a new ranking of second, but university officials are probably relieved, and would hope for a continuation of a decline. The latest survey by the Princeton Review has been released indicating the "Top Party" schools in America. This year's "top party" school is Syracuse University. The other colleges and universities to make the top five include: Iowa at second, University of California at Santa Barbara at third, West Virginia University holds down the fourth position, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign rounds out the top five. Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah is again listed as the top "stone-cold sober schools". About 130,000 students on 379 campuses were surveyed for the book, which contains 62 top-20 lists ranking factors like financial aid awards, athletic facilities and food.